Article X calls for the General Court to convene its regular session on the first Wednesday of January. The session does not dissolve until a new regular session convenes in the next year. Article X specifies that it does not prevent the General Court from meeting at any time that it judges necessary.

Major issues

2012

In 2012, the House was in session formally from January 4 through July 31.

Major issues

Leading the agenda was a crackdown on abuses at special education collaboratives in the state. Other issues included controlling health costs and a sentencing bill that would bar parole for prisoners convicted of more than two violent crimes.[6]

2011

In 2011, the House was in session from January 5 through a date not yet decided by the Legislature.[7]

2010

In 2010, the House convened its session on January 6th, and it remained in session throughout the 2010.[8]

Cost-benefit analyses

The Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative released a report in July 2013 which indicated that cost-benefit analysis in policymaking led to more effective uses of public funds. Looking at data from 2008 through 2011, the study's authors found that some states were more likely to use cost-benefit analysis while others were facing challenges and lagging behind the rest of the nation. Among the challenges states faced were a lack of time, money and technical skills needed to conduct comprehensive cost-benefit analyses. Massachusetts was one of 29 states with mixed results regarding the frequency and effectiveness in its use of cost-benefit analysis.[11]

Ethics and transparency

Following the Money report

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a consumer-focused nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., released its annual report on state transparency websites in April 2014. The report, entitled "Following the Money," measured how transparent and accountable state websites are with regard to state government spending.[12] According to the report, Massachusetts received a grade of A- and a numerical score of 90.5, indicating that Massachusetts was "leading" in terms of transparency regarding state spending.[12]

Elections

2014

Elections for the office of Massachusetts House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on September 9, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014.

2010

Elections for the office of Massachusetts House of Representatives were held in Massachusetts on November 2, 2010. The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was May 4, 2010 for partisan and was August 3 for Independents. The primary election day was on September 14, 2010.

In 2010, the candidates running for state house raised a total of $13,713,787 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were:[14]

2000

Elections for the office of Massachusetts House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on September 19, 2000, and a general election on November 7, 2000.

During the 2000 election, the total of contributions to House candidates was $10,434,982. The top 10 contributors were:[19]

2000 Donors, Massachusetts House of Representatives

Donor

Amount

Massachusetts Republican Party

$161,028

Stanley, Harriett L

$60,100

Retired Public Employees

$48,200

Professional Fire Fighters Of Massachusetts

$39,825

Coppola, Michael J & Virginia

$36,200

Healey, Kerry Murphy

$30,450

Boston Police Patrolmens Association

$28,700

Kaplan, Lawrence

$28,250

Speaker Finnerans House Victory Fund

$26,100

Massachusetts Laborers District Council

$25,200

Qualifications

Article LXXI of the Massachusetts Constitution states: Every representative, for one year at least immediately preceding his election, shall have been an inhabitant of the district for which he is chosen and shall cease to represent such district when he shall cease to be an inhabitant of the commonwealth.

Vacancies

If there is a vacancy in the house, a special election must be conducted to fill the vacant seat. The election must be held on the next regularly scheduled date on the election calendar.[20] Local governments who conduct special elections receive reimbursement from the State Treasurer's office for all costs incurred.[21]

2010

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts experienced a 3.1 percent increase in population between 2000 and 2010. Specifically, the population rose from approximately 6.35 million to 6.55 million. However, the nation as a whole saw a population increase of 9.7 percent, a much faster rate than Massachusetts, and Massachusetts lost a Congressional seat as a result of the relatively slow growth.[23][24][25]

The Special Joint Committee on Redistricting was generally recognized as a relatively open process compared to past redistricting efforts.[26] Some towns petitioned for having one representative, rather than being split between two state legislative districts.[27] Other citizen groups expressed strong interests in having more minority-majority districts.[28][29] In October 2011, the Committee produced and approved a map that increased the number of minority-majority districts in the state house from ten to twenty, and consolidated the town of Lexington into one state house district.[30][31]

Salaries

As of 2013, members of the Massachusetts General Court are paid $61,133/year. Legislators receive between $10/day to $100/day per diem, depending on distance from the state house. Compensation is vouchered and set by the legislature.[34]

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

During every year from 1992-2013, the Democratic Party was the majority in the Massachusetts State House of Representatives. The Massachusetts State House of Representatives is one of 18 state Houses that was Democratic for more than 80 percent of the years between 1992-2013. During the last seven years of the study Massachusetts was under Democratic trifectas.

Across the country, there were 577 Democratic and 483 Republican State Houses of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states had divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

SQLI and partisanship

The chart below depicts the partisanship of the Massachusetts state government and the state's SQLI ranking for the years studied. For the SQLI, the states were ranked from 1-50, with 1 being the best and 50 the worst. Massachusetts had a period of divided government between 1992 and 2006 before electing a Democratic trifecta in 2007. Between the years 1992 and 2004, Massachusetts remained in the top-10 in the SQLI ranking, hitting its highest spot (3rd) in 2000 under divided government. The state had its lowest ranking (24th) in 2006, also under divided government. During the years 2005 and 2006, Massachusetts fell eleven spots in the SQLI ranking under divided government, which was its largest drop in the ranking during the period of the study. The state has never had a Republican trifecta.

SQLI average with Democratic trifecta: 14.17

SQLI average with Republican trifecta: N/A

SQLI average with divided government: 7.20

Chart displaying the partisanship of Massachusetts government from 1992-2013 and the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI).